Imperfect
by D.Genesis
Summary: Being in love with your best friend who doesn't return your feelings sucks; Naruto would know this better than anyone. So he's concocted a plan to get over it. Easier said than done with a best friend like Sasuke. SasuNaru Yaoi Slash
1. Chapter 1

Don't shoot me... I know I have stories practically sprouting from drain pipes these days but I was outside a few nights ago, sitting on the deck despite the viciously cold weather, a mug of black coffee clutched between by semi-frozen fingers just admiring the moonlight glimmering off the ocean and the glittering lights of the city across the harbour when I came up with **_this_**. Before, I'd even gotten back inside to defrost myself, I had the first two chapters already forming in my head and voila!

-Imperfect-

**Warnings: **AU**. ****Het**.** Slash** (meaning boy with boy in sexual relations.) Language. Violence. Adult situations. Suggestive dialogue. _Possible_ **Sex scene/s** (FFnet safe only. _The __**unedited explicit version**__ would be __**posted**__**elsewhere**_.) I'll see what you guys think about adding this later. As of right now, I'm undecided.  
This story is definitely more suited to** mature audiences. Un'beta'd!  
**_**I have warned you**_. If you are uncomfortable with **any** of this, then turn back now.  
**Disclaimer: **This is a work of fanfiction, written purely to entertain myself and (hopefully) whoever else stumbles upon this and finds it amusing.  
**Pairings,** _**Top/Bottom:**_ Keeping in mind that this refers to whose man bits go where. It has no bearing whatsoever on who may initiate contact, situations or who chases after whom. We good? Great.  
Sasuke/random girls, Naruto-verse-guys/Naruto _(These aren't set as of yet.)_  
**Mentions of:** Random guys/Naruto/Random guys, Naruto/Random girls  
_**Eventual**_ Sasuke/Naruto.  
& Naruto + Sakura (they have a bizarre friendship that most would probably find questionable. You'll see why later.)

* * *

サスケxナルト

**I**

サスケxナルト

"Oi, bastard!" Naruto Uzumaki glared over at his utterly _useless_ companion and let out a low growl when his call went ignored. Yet again. This was growing ridiculous.

He'd been standing there for several minutes now, brown paper bags stuffed with food for him and his jerk of a flatmate balanced precariously in long arms. Truth be told, the blonde _could_ have put the bags down and worked from there, but he was known for making things more difficult for himself. Plus he wanted his flatmate to help him out, damn it. Naruto had gone out and done all the shopping. _He_ was the one who hauled the bags—that were practically overflowing—into their apartment. _He_ was the one that had struggled to get said full bags _into_ said apartment and _he_ was the one having to put everything away. _Alone. Again_. Although by now, he really shouldn't have been too surprised by this.

Sasuke Uchiha was a lazy arse.

Naruto had no idea how anyone viewed the extremely uptight being as anything but lazy, let alone all the positive epithets that were _oh so often_ flung about whenever his flatmate was concerned.

Sure the guy aced every test he'd ever done; being a genius he didn't need to focus quite as hard as Naruto had to, which in itself wasn't fair. Sasuke worked out at the gym _every_ day—while Naruto barely had the time to go twice a week—plus the other was a notorious playboy and slept with practically anything in a skirt and a big enough cup size, yet still he remained for the most part antisocial.

Life simply wasn't _fair_. Naruto was cursed. He was so damn sure of it. All he seemed to attract were perverts—women _and_ men alike—with only the few that he himself were genuinely drawn to. Then whoever he was interested in met his flatmate and either fell instantly in love with the overbearing bastard or were out the door like the hounds of hell were out to get them.

Naruto never quite understood the latter reaction but figured that the newbies just didn't have the same immunity he himself possessed when it came to the older teen's death glares. Needless to say, Naruto hadn't gotten laid in a very, _very_ long time.

"Hey, dickwad," he tried again, "you gonna help me with the groceries or what?"

Said dickwad turned eyes darker than midnight and regarded the struggling blond with the usual indifference. "You seem to be doing just fine."

Something in the paper bag moved threateningly and Naruto had to hurriedly readjust his hold, lest there be a disaster of catastrophic proportions—groceries style, with flattened tomatoes spraying their blood everywhere. It had happened before. The carnage was something Naruto was not eager to repeat. Mostly because _he_ was the one to clean it all.

He frowned. "Bastard," he muttered and dumped the groceries on the bench. _And it's five – nil to the prick. Again._ No problem. A slight setback. The day was still young. This could be fixed.

Setting about putting the food away, Naruto decided on ignoring the other male who had remained unmoving from the breakfast bar and his stack of—what the younger took to be—study materials and notes, head of dark hair falling around his face.

They made the most unlikely pair of roommates. One fair-haired the other dark. Blue eyes to pure obsidian. His golden-peach coloured complexion to Sasuke's fair ivory. The half-blood German brat everyone had loved to hate and heart throb of the school.

It was sad, but things hadn't really changed much. Sasuke was still considered one of the most handsome young men of the country, on equal footing with his older brother, Itachi—which he absolutely hated and Naruto utterly _loved, _because very few people could best Sasuke in anything—and Naruto, well he was still mistaken as a kid and was always asked for I.D. It didn't help that he was shorter than Sasuke—though not by much, his eyes drew level with Sasuke's chin so about two inches give or take—and generally, not quite as built—again not his fault since he couldn't train non-stop like Sasuke could.

Ahh, the fate's loved irony.

But more than that, their completely clashing personalities. In every way the boys were polar opposites which made the whole concept of them being flatmates let alone _friends_ more than unbelievable and perhaps a tad more than confusing. They were rivals from sixth grade through high school. But despite all their differences both had a certain understanding and tolerance of the other that most people never quite understood.

Kiba had once joked about opposites attracting. Sasuke had bloodied his lip and sat by himself in a corner and brooded. _For days_. Until Naruto was forced into smacking the other boy upside the head and recruited Sakura Haruno in assisting with Sasuke's issues.

It hadn't been pretty. The resulting war between Naruto's friends and Sasuke's fangirls in the school cafeteria was _Epic_. Food absolutely everywhere and managing to worm it's way into places Naruto had never imagined was possible. Two weeks later he was still trying to get the casserole surprise out of his hair and ears. No one won and he'd landed himself a detention for a week for being the instigator of the food fight but that same day Sasuke had smirked at the egg roll and ginger dangling from Naruto's golden hair. And all was back to normal.

"The old man called."

Halting his movements, Naruto turned to the other occupant of the room slightly surprised that the other was offering up _any_ kind of conversation starter. Even if it was to simply pass on a message, in that deadpan of his. Often hours could pass without the other saying a word and he'd already spoken over his quota of the hour.

Naruto blinked when he found the other staring at him, looking rather annoyed.

_Well, no real change there_.

"The old perv?" Naruto asked, just to be certain. There were several 'old men' that may have called while he was out fetching food for himself and the undeserving boy seated across from where he stood.

"He wants you to go in to the club today."

Whatever pleasantness Naruto had _almost_ been feeling melted away in an instant. To be replaced by annoyance at the old coot's nerve. "It's my day off!" He scowled, unhappily and ignored the heavy _clunk_ of a can hitting the bench. "I had plans."

The other boy shrugged, uncaring. Not even the dreaded grunt mangling his windpipe as he spat it out.

_Oh shit, speaking of plans_. Spinning on his heel, Naruto hurled the rest of the groceries into their rightful places. Not really bothering at all with the canned goods. It would take more than his clumsiness to ruin that, luckily he had put all the vegetables away first. _Sakura's gonna kill me if I'm late to lunch with her again!_

And Sakura was not someone you wanted angry at you. The girl was freakishly strong and hit harder than most guys Naruto had gotten into fights with in the not too distant past. He would even risk losing a nut in saying that she hit about as hard as Sasuke did and the Uchiha had once broken through concrete. Granted, the slab wasn't that thick and he'd torn up his hand pretty badly because of it but the fact remained; he'd still shattered the concrete in an attempt to hit Naruto. The latter had never been so pleased that he'd dodged that blow. He'd likely be dead otherwise.

"You'll have to make your own dinner!" Naruto yelled, dashing from the kitchen to his bedroom down the hall. There wasn't enough time for him to change his clothing again before he met up with his closest girl friend for their usual lunch dates. "I doubt I'll be able to make anything before I go to work tonight."

Sasuke didn't answer him. No surprises there.

Glancing at the analogue clock on his bedside table, the nineteen year-old swore and grabbed a jacket—it would have to do—before he was tearing toward the kitchen and the small entrance hall just beyond. "And don't burn anything!"

He was out the door before Sasuke could react.

Patting down his pockets to check for both his wallet and car keys were still were he left them—he was notorious for losing both at the worst possible times—Naruto sprang down the hall to the elevator. There he commenced stabbing at the little silver button with an arrow pointing down in an attempt to get the thing to move faster. Never mind that it was extremely high-tech and faster than any other elevator he'd ever had the pleasure of using. Old habits die hard and he was running late. Who cared if he broke the thing? The entire complex cost an arm and both legs anyway, why not use it to his full advantage?

The elevator finally arrived and the blond dodged in. Fortunately, the large lift was completely devoid of all other life forms. He stabbed the down button again and waited—impatiently—for the mirrored box to descend.

サスケxナルト

"You're late."

That pronouncement in _that_ particular tone never boded well for the blond and it echoed around the stark silver and white of the glitzy restaurant as he finally reached his companion.

Naruto cringed. "Sorry, Sakura-chan!"

The girl glanced up, faded rose coloured hair bouncing and pale jade eyes narrowing on him fiercely from where she sat, sipping her beverage. Very likely an alcoholic one. Being a med-student was apparently quite stressful. Being his friend even more so. Naruto couldn't really fault her.

"How do you manage to be late?" she asked, "I got here on time and I don't have a car like you."

"Blame the bastard," Naruto muttered and tugged at his hair, feeling guilty. Sakura was right, he had a car while she was forced to rely on public transportation to get herself around. Not everyone had the luxury of wealthy parents that tried to spoil you rotten, even when you were old enough to leave the proverbial nest.

Sakura turned shrewd eyes his way and smiled slyly; he hated that expression. It reminded him of himself. "But you still love him anyway," she observed.

The blonde groaned low in his throat. Things would have been a lot easier if he didn't. Like, if he'd stayed in love with Sakura.

"I know!" he admitted, feeling generous. His face flushing at the admission. It wasn't like Sakura didn't know how he felt; she'd been the first person he'd gone to when he'd begun to develop the conflicting emotions years ago. "How did you get over him?"

The girl paused, glass almost to her glossy, coral coloured lips. Her brows furrowed as she considered the question. "I just realised one day that I'd never get what I wanted from him," she confessed after a minute. "Of course, it wasn't quite as simple as that but it helped me work through my thoughts and I just..." she shrugged, obviously unsure how to complete the sentence.

Naruto slumped forward onto the table. Face buried in his hands. Well, that didn't really help him now, did it?

"Elbows off," came Sakura's command and Naruto jerked up, just in time for their usual waitress to come along with the menus. A slim, pretty young woman with her chestnut hair pulled up into two buns on either side of her head and warm chocolate-brown eyes.

"Oh hey, Tenten," he greeted with a grin.

"Do I even need to offer you these?" she smiled at them teasingly, waving the menus in her hand. "I know your orders off by heart now."

Sakura smiled up at her. "I'll have the usual, Tenten," she said, not bothering to look at the menu. "And I'll take a mineral water, too. No ice. Thank you."

Tenten bobbed her head, and whipped out a small writing pad and pen then jotted the order down. Though there really was no need. "And you, Naruto?" she asked, pen poised. "Same?"

"Yup!" he beamed. "And two glasses of tomato juice." At this, Sakura's brows arched in question.

Tenten nodded and noted it. "Spiced?"

"A little," Naruto agreed after a moment. "Not too much Tabasco. That shit just burns."

"Alrighties," Tenten confirmed. "So we've got a small vegetable tempura, rice and salad lunch box with a mineral water—no ice—and a large pork-katsu, rice, salad and miso soup lunch box with two glasses of mildly spiced tomato juice. We good?"

"Perfect," Sakura smiled.

"I'll be right back with your drinks," Tenten offered and bounced away

Naruto was immediately placed under the scrutiny of curious jade-green eyes. "What?" he questioned, an unease settling over him as the girl kept staring at him but saying nothing. "I ran out of orange juice half-way through the week and ended up drinking Sasuke's tomato juice," he explained. "It isn't half bad. Now I'm just used to it."

"Uh huh." Now Sakura's countenance was just plain smug.

"Jiraiya has me on tonight," Naruto stated, desperately wanting to change the subject. His hands had already made a mess of his napkin; the linen lotus flower mangled beyond recognition.

Finishing her glass—that Naruto was still highly suspicious of—Sakura frowned and slammed the thing down. God, she was even picking up her mentor, Tsunade's, behaviours. "Tonight was movie night," she complained. It almost came out a whine. "Did he say _why_ you were needed?"

"Sasuke took the message. Surprised he even bothered to get that much," he conceded.

"I'm surprised he bothered to answer the landline," Sakura voiced. "Must be expecting an important call."

That hadn't even crossed Naruto's mind.

"And here we have your mineral water and tomato juice," Tenten beamed as she came back, bearing a tray with the three drinks on top. Placing them on the glossy, black lacquered table, she picked up Sakura's empty glass. "Is there anything else I can get you while you wait?"

Taking a sip of his juice, Naruto shook his head. "I'm good."

"That's fine, thanks."

"Okay." The waitress nodded. "Just holler if you need anything," she said and wandered off, hips swaying to some beat only she could hear, her head bobbing along as she went and if Naruto weren't so enamoured with his bastard roommate, he might have made an honest pass at her. Maybe.

"Ever consider asking Tenten out?"

It was just plain scary how sometimes Sakura seemed to read his mind like that.

"It really isn't hard to notice how her eyes light up when she sees you," Sakura added.

"And if everything goes wrong, we'll need to find a new restaurant to have our lunches at," Naruto reasoned. "I really like here."

"You also really like Ichiraku ramen."

"You don't."

"I could live with having it once a week."

Naruto scoffed. "Yeah, _right_. You're worse than Sasuke when it comes to eating healthy. 'Do you realise how much salt this contains? Naruto, really,'" he murmured, voice pitched higher in imitation of Sakura's. "'If you keep eating this, Naruto, you won't have to worry about saving for old age; you'll be dead long before.'"

The rose-haired girl looked downright _scandalised_. "I do _not_ sound like that!"

"You do."

"I did not say that, either."

"You did."

Sakura shot him a glare. Knowing when to leave well enough alone—at least, when it came to the beautiful Sakura Haruno—Naruto shrugged.

"Now back to the Sasuke issue," the Med student went on. "How are your plans coming along?"

With a groan, Naruto's forehead struck the table and stayed there.

"Oh Naruto," the girl sighed. "You'll get over this."

"He doesn't make things easy," the blond muttered, head still pressed to wood. "When I find someone I like he either takes them from me or scares them off."

"Naruto," Sakura spoke softly, her hand resting comfortingly against his shoulder. He glanced up her; she was leaning across the table. _Elbows_ on the table.

_Sacrilege!_

"If these people were so easily swayed by Sasuke, then they obviously weren't worth your time," she went on, ignorant to his side-rant. "You're worth much more than I think you even realise. You deserve someone who will love you unconditionally. Someone who won't fall for Sasuke or be scared off by him and I think I may know such a person."

The blond slumped back down. "No blind dates."

A frown marred the pretty girl's face. "Fine but I'll bring him by tonight when you're at work. It isn't a blind date if I just drag him along with me."

"How do you even know this guy?" Naruto questioned, feeling suddenly very protective of the girl in front of him. He may not be in love with her anymore, but he _did_ still love her. If differently to the way he had before. She was the closest thing he'd ever had to a sister and would damn well make sure she wasn't hurt in any way.

"He's actually the little brother of an acquaintance I share classes with. Though she's a few years ahead of me."

Naruto nodded along. "And the brother?"

Here, Sakura faltered. "Apparently he's not really a people person. Stays in his office and works all the time. Doesn't really talk all that much... should be right up your alley!"

"Sakura-chan—"

"And he's definitely gay."

The Uzumaki wasn't even sure he wanted to know how she was aware of this guy's sexual preferences if she was only an acquaintance of the boy's sister. Acquaintances didn't usually share such personal information. Certainly nothing like that but it was clear that Sakura had been doing her homework. A subtle warmth flooded through him at the thought.

"All right, bring him with you," Naruto relented. "And Sakura?"

She had released his shoulder and was seated once more. "Hmm?"

"Thanks."

She offered him a smile. "I'll be over after class to help you pick out an outfit," she was quick to inform him. "You're not exactly fashion conscious. Better yet, give me your credit card and I'll go shopping for something for you. I know your sizes and everything."

"Hell no!"

It wasn't that he didn't trust her with his card, he just didn't trust her to simply pick out _one_ decent outfit for him. She'd probably buy him everything that she thought would look good on him and he didn't want a whole new wardrobe.

"When was the last time you updated your clothing, Naruto?" she asked, seriously and Naruto found himself acutely aware that he hadn't really purchased anything new—excluding underwear—since he'd graduated from high school and moved in with Sasuke in their apartment. "Well?"

"Er..."

The pair were thankfully interrupted when Tenten returned bearing their lunch and a bemused expression. "Everything alright?" she queried, uncertainly.

"Let's eat!" Naruto hurriedly shot out and eagerly set about stuffing his mouth with his food as it was set before him. A full mouth was a mouth that couldn't answer questions he felt like ignoring. "Thanms Tmtm!"

"Naruto!" Sakura scolded. "Don't talk with your mouth full!"

* * *

I'm not sure about this one. I like it personally, because I've always wanted a story thats more "adult feeling" and to capture that "independance" I guess you could say despite the gang still being teens (19, actually,) and literally on the cusp of adulthood with adult problems and worries. Did I succeed? Perhaps, we'll soon see, huh?

I'm so bad. I really shouldn't be biting off more than I can chew but meh, I've always loved challenges.

So let me know your thoughts? Love it? Hate it? Con-crit, questions, reviews all that over jazz I really appreciate and helps feed my creativity. You've probably already noticed this though, all things considered.

Anyway, back to working on Sanctuary now.

BTW, who should Naruto's other love interest be? I can't decide on who I want to play with as I love all the Naruto boys. They make such wonderful toys.


	2. Chapter 2

An Update as promised. Granted, it should have been posted on Friday night (last night,) but what's a day off? I said weekend.

**Many thanks for all the love shared and a special thanks for my reviewers: pennypigeon, Akirakun17, SLYSWN, HinaLuvLuvChan, UzuHuu, OCDness, Zei Kinomiya-Ivanov. Zeiriyu, IWishIWasACheescake and sweetbubbelgirl.** You guys are seriously awesome.

* * *

サスケxナルト

**II**

サスケxナルト

In the end, Naruto surrendered his credit card.

Although, in his defence, it wasn't _without_ giving Sakura some restrictions. For one, Naruto forbade her from spending too much; the card may have been his but it was still his parents who paid it and as such, he really didn't want her to go ballistic.

There was a reason he had two part time jobs and it wasn't for kicks.

He wanted to pay his own way through the world, not ride his parent's coattails. He coped—_most_ of the time—living on his wages but paying his way cost him a lot. Definitely on the rent of his apartment. Sure, Sasuke had more or less informed Naruto he didn't have to pay anything. The place was _owned_ by Sasuke but it wasn't in Naruto's nature to simply take handouts—food aside, because he _was_ a healthy young male and possessed an equally robust appetite—he didn't want to leech off the other teen.

Besides, this way it was less likely Sasuke would want to kick him out.

Moreover he didn't want a huge debt to repay his parents. And he _would_ repay them for the money they'd given him. Even if it _was_ a gift.

"Naruto!"

The boy in question glanced up from where he'd been preparing Sasuke's dinner— apparently he found time to make it after all, which was probably for the best considering Sasuke's history when it came to making edible food—to see Sakura hurrying towards him, arms filled with a moderate number of shopping bags—granted, still far more than he'd allowed—and eyes glittering the way they had back when she was in love with Sasuke. She looked almost _high_ and Naruto had to stop himself from asking if she was. He couldn't with Sasuke there.

Sasuke who was standing next to the open door of the apartment looking extremely annoyed. Whether this was because of the intrusion or the fact that _he_—The Great Sasuke Uchiha that lived to be served by Naruto—had been forced to open the door, the blond couldn't say.

The girl stopped in front of the Uzumaki, the gleam in her eyes settling until she looked mostly sane. "Have you showered?" she demanded to know, as she stopped before his knife wielding form. He reared back, partially ready to be assaulted.

"Actually—"

"Now!" she demanded, somehow managing to _loom_. "I'll put these in your room."

Then she wandered off, bags of shopping gripped in her surprisingly strong, thin arms. Naruto watched her a moment before he placed Sasuke's prepared dinner—as far as his cooking went, a reasonably simple meal of steamed bite sized salmon pieces and vegetables marinated in sake then wrapped in tinfoil and ready to re-heat—in the refrigerator before he hurried toward the linen closet then pulled out a towel and face cloth.

Turning he _almost_ screamed—almost, because it didn't quite form as it snuck up his oesophagus like a ninja, only to escape in a mangled, whined out _eep!_—when he found Sasuke. Right behind him.

Sneaky jerk.

"Bastard!" Naruto bit out, his heart thundering away in his chest. If he died due to heart attack, he swore he'd come back and haunt the Uchiha. Maybe it was time to update his will. If Sasuke kept this up, he'd be done in before the week's end. "What the hell?"

The dark-haired teen nodded in the direction Sakura had gone in. "Why is _she_ here?"

For reasons Naruto had never understood, Sasuke absolutely _loathed_ Sakura. It hadn't always been that way, at first he'd simply disliked her. Found her fangirling irritating—he'd said as much; both to Sakura and Naruto himself—but grew to tolerate her constant presence nonetheless. Then one day he just couldn't stand her and for the most part, hadn't bothered to hide his feelings.

By some stroke of fortune, it happened after she'd stopped loving him. It pained Naruto to contemplate what may have happened otherwise. It also made him wonder if she'd ever noticed that before.

_Probably._

"What?" Naruto shot back, forcing his poor startled heart to _settle-the-fuck-back-down_. "I can't have _friends_ over? You have _sleepovers_ all the time."

He wondered _why_ he'd even bothered using a euphemism to make it sound less... well, so Sasuke didn't sound quite so man-whorish. It wasn't like it changed anything or the sounds that Naruto's oh so delicate ears were often tortured with because Sasuke liked them loud in bed and refused to do the decent thing by going _somewhere else_ to fuck like no tomorrow.

Sasuke turned back to him, eyes narrowed. "I don't like her."

"Tough!" Naruto barked and sidestepped the taller male. He refused to get into this with Sasuke now. He had to shower and then put up with Sakura for however long before a shift he wasn't even meant to be pulling at work. "I _do_ like her. So you're just going to have to suck it up and deal with it!"

_Like I have to put up with all your shrieking one night stands! _

Feeling curiously vindicated, he stomped all the way to the bathroom, threw his towel over the rack—conveniently located next to the semi frosted glass shower—and closed the door before he flipped the tap on then proceeded to strip. The hiss of water striking tile soon sounded, echoing off the walls and he slipped beneath the pulsing spray, trying to force his muscles to relax. Being around Sasuke was just so stressful.

It was a wonder, really, that he looked as young as he did. He heard from someone that stress often contributed to wrinkles and gray hair. Alarmed at the sudden and distressing thought, he clutched at his own luscious golden locks. How would he know if he was going gray? Maybe he already was, and simply wasn't aware?

_Sasuke if I go gray because of you..._

He heard a click, snapping him from his vengeful reverie to discover Sakura inside the bathroom, locking the door. Her expression thoughtful and a little troubled. She plonked herself down on the covered toilet seat.

"He really doesn't like me, does he?"

Naruto was a little worried about the tone she used. It sounded... strange. Contemplative but at the same time, vastly puzzled and almost suspicious.

"Um... Sakura-chan?"

She glanced up at him and Naruto couldn't help but feel a little self-conscious.

_Don't be stupid,_ he chastised himself. She'd seen him naked before—more than once, actually—so it wasn't like this was new. Modesty wasn't really in his nature. It wouldn't even be the first time that she'd been in his particular bathroom, either.

However, the door hadn't been locked those times and Sakura had walked in and out of the room as they held random discussions. Naruto couldn't recall what, exactly most of these so called conversations were about except for one of which, in the end, they had come to some ridiculous conclusion that had them both laughing so hard they cried. Sides absolutely aching.

_Sasuke hadn't been home that time, either,_ his mind supplied.

Maybe _that_ was why he felt slightly uncomfortable.

But the girl just waved his query away with a hand. "Don't mind me, Naruto," she said, it looked like she'd disappeared into her head as she studied the pale blue, aqua and silver tiled floor. "I was just... wondering about something, is all."

Eyeing her dubiously, Naruto shrugged and sank back under the water. Soaking his hair.

"Use that body wash I got you," Sakura decided, tapping her long perfectly manicured nails against the porcelain basin beside her. "I noticed that you drew more attention when you use it and if things work out for you tonight, you'll have a new boyfriend ready to dominate you in bed."

Naruto dropped the bottle of soap. It took a moment, but he was successful in ignoring the random prison jokes the incident conjured in his overactive imagination. "How the hell did you come to the conclusion _I'd_ bottom?"

Sakura just gazed back at him blankly. "I thought it was obvious," she deadpanned, though her eyes were starting to twinkle again. "Sasuke—if he ever decided to try men out for himself—would be an uncompromising top. You've seen the way he is with Itachi-san. It's just sibling rivalry and yet he _obsesses_ over the fact that his brother can hold anything over him. He hates not being completely in control, of being seen as inferior—"

"Are you implying that bottoming equates to being emasculated?" he asked, slightly ticked off. He brushed his hair back so that his line of sight wasn't impaired by soggy golden strands. "Your dick doesn't drop off suddenly because you've got some other guy's one lodged up your arse and you certainly don't suddenly grow a vag—"

"I don't mean it as an insult," Sakura cut in, smoothly. "Nor am I implying that bottoming emasculates you in any way, shape or form. All I _am_ saying, however, is that there are gay men that will gravitate toward certain roles when it comes to sex. It may start off more or less equal with giving and taking but one party will generally always fall into a more dominant role than the other and I honestly can't see Sasuke letting anyone dominate him. _Ever_."

The blonde's mouth dropped open, ready to retort—though he had no idea _how_ he was going to achieve this—but Sakura went on blithely.

"And if I recall the people you have been with—both sexes—were mostly control freaks and liked to cause pain. Take it as you want it, Naruto. But you're a closest masochist and would probably bottom to any guy you had a relationship with."

Picking up the soap, Naruto turned his back on Sakura feeling horribly insulted. How dare she say he was just a bottom! And to _Sasuke_! Granted, he'd never actually _thought_ about their positions when it came to his sexual fantasies. Somehow, he'd always orgasm before he reached that point. Even all his lurid wet dreams.

It was that bad.

"I'll have you know that I _have_ topped before!" he grumbled, not really wanting to go into the details but wanting to restore _some_ of his pride as a male. Damn woman! He squeezed a dollop of body scrub on the weird spongy thing that Sasuke had demand he use—because heaven forbid the blond use face cloths—and lathered himself up. "More than a couple of times."

There was a curious pause and then Naruto heard a shuffle as Sakura turned. Assumedly to look at him. Pretending he hadn't noticed, he worked on coating his back with soap suds.

"Did you like it?"

"SAKURA!" he screeched, glad he wasn't facing her direction. Otherwise she would see his flaming face. He didn't dare look at her. Really, they were breaching his comfort zone right about now. Actually, no. They'd infringed on it when they started discussing his hitherto unknown masochistic tendencies. Ones he was still sure he didn't possess.

The girl huffed. "It's a reasonable question," she stated, clearly unperturbed. "Did you like it? Putting it inside another male? Or do you prefer having someone else's one inside you?"

"I prefer Mt. Naruto being inside women, thank you," he ground out, absolutely mortified. "It's a little different with guys. Firstly, we don't self-lube in the way you guys do, secondly—"

"That isn't what I'm talking about." Now Sakura just sounded annoyed. "When you were in relationships with other guys—like, when you were with um, that tall, tan guy with the spiky black hair."

Of course Sakura would pick _him_. He was Naruto's first male lover and of course, Naruto hadn't topped him. At all. That was well before he'd even developed an interest in Sasuke. Back when they were both rivals and almost friends in tenth grade. Back when he had to keep his sexuality a secret. However, Sakura had worked it out easily enough.

Naruto groaned lowly and tilted his head backwards, allowing it to hit the glass cubicle. It did so with a muffled thud. "Christ," he muttered. Still, the sound carried. "Why are you so interested?"

"Just answer the question."

"He's a bad example," Naruto pointed out, trying to escape her queries but she could be a damn bloodhound if she scented something—_anything_—of interest. "He was the first... you know and we parted on pretty good terms. Hell, he still calls me sometimes." He wasn't going to answer. He refused and thought that he'd indulged her curiosity enough for the day.

"Naruto," Sakura ground out in warning.

With a muffled curse, he looked at her. "God!" he hissed before an idea came to him and he tried to stifle his bubbling laughter. "You are such a pervert _Sakura-chan_~ Who else knows your secret?"

She just continued to stare at him, evidently waiting him to answer her. He had another idea in mind.

"I knew it!" he exclaimed, abruptly. "You _want_ me. That's why you're so interested all of a sudden. Ha, I knew you'd fall for me eventually. I mean, what's not to love?" he asked, gesturing to his wet and soapy body while offering a vulpine smirk.

"You're right."

Naruto blinked. Utterly thrown. "Say what?"

"I said you're right, Naruto," Sakura murmured, rising from the toilet. Her small hands already moving down and unbuttoning her jeans before returning to pull her top up; revealing a trim, creamy stomach. Her eyes hadn't once strayed from him.

Sakura, of course, was hot. _Damn_ hot. With perfectly shaped legs that Naruto was certain were almost long enough to put the girl in orbit—they were just so long—and a tight, little body with modest but perky boobs. There was a reason he'd lusted after her for years and finally, _finally_ he was being given what he'd dreamed of on a freaking golden platter with a side of Ramen.

And at another time, he would _so_ have tapped that.

But now? Naruto was panicking.

Not once had he foreseen anything like this ever happening and his mind was still unable to completely compute. His grip—settled around the bottle of soap that was being used to shield Mt. Naruto and the boys from view—tightened. The breath entering and exiting his lungs set at a rapid, almost dizzying pace. He felt like he was about to pass out but couldn't.

"I—Uh, Sakura-chan. I really don't—"

"What's the matter, Naruto?" she questioned lowly, the uncharacteristically husky tone doing _terrible_ things to the horrified blonde's nerves as he spied her hand pulling the fly to her jeans down a little lower. Then that hand was drifting up, toward him—

_Oh Christ—I can see lace. That is definitely lace._

He received a flick to his nose._ Ow._

"Joking," Sakura smiled devilishly, shaking her head. She stepped back, dropping her shirt back down and redoing her jeans. She shook off the water that managed to get on her arms from the shower. "I'm not sure whether I should laugh at your expression or feel insulted that apparently the thought of seeing me naked inspires such horror."

_Okay... What?_

Tentatively, Naruto lowered his soap—but didn't release it entirely, still scared shitless by what had happened—and exhaled a shaky breath he hadn't realised he was holding. He had seriously been fearing for his virtue-less self.

"Maybe next time, huh, Sakura-chan?" he smiled, taking the words as they were and forcing himself back into a state of calm. She was accustomed to his blatant come-ons—even though, they were always done in jest and or, to keep away creeps—it was only fair she return the favour at some point. It was just, unexpected. That was all.

Now if she ever did that while they were out in public, he would have eaten the attention up. Encouraged it, even.

_Yeah..._

Then why the hell was he trembling like a little girl?

Sakura rolled her eyes and wandered back over to the toilet where she seated herself again. "Not if you have another panic attack like that," she replied, tidying her rose-hued hair. "Am I really that revolting?"

Naruto shook his head and tried to think of how it actually felt to have her stripping before him as he showered. "No!" he blurted, she was probably the hottest girls he'd ever known and he knew many. "There's nothing wrong with the way you look."

"Then why did you freak out?" she pressed, face set into a thoughtful expression. He wasn't sure what to make of it. He hesitated, squeezed his soap bottle tightly.

"It just felt... weird. You know?"

She peered at him, green eyes intent but thankfully, not dark with lust or anything resembling it. "I get it," she replied with a tiny smile of understanding and nod of her head. "Same here."

_Oh good._

The loud bang from somewhere outside the bathroom startled them.

"Actually," Naruto murmured, glancing at the still locked door. "I think you should probably get out of here before that bastard thinks you're giving me a blowjob or something and if you're really interested in gay sex, I'll get you a gay porn mag or something later," he grinned at her.

サスケxナルト

Ten minutes later found Naruto sauntering from the laundry room—bright orange towel wrapped snugly around his slim hips—towelling off his dripping hair with a second, smaller towel and receiving the filthiest glare known to man, courtesy of his lovely best friend.

Sometimes Sasuke could be such a pissy bastard.

Flicking the brooding teen a rude hand gesture, the Uzumaki continued on his way to the bedroom he'd claimed as his only to stop and _almost_ turn back the way he'd come.

But of course, Sakura wouldn't have that. She snagged his arm the instant he'd set foot inside the room and pulled him over to his bed. It was covered in the new sets of clothing she'd purchased and surprisingly, most were things that he would actually wear. Some of the items were _even_ orange. He found himself shocked.

"Try this on," Sakura suggested, shoving a pair of dark jeans his way. They looked well loved, despite the tags declaring them as new. They were torn, ripped and faded in all the right places. Best of all, when he tried them on they were _comfy_. Accentuating his assets with a subtlety and negligence. The shirt she'd thrown him was a simple navy button up. So dark it almost looked black.

He eyed himself in the floor length mirror that served as the sliding door to his wardrobe and had to admit, the clothing looked amazing. Then again, Sakura was surprisingly good at picking out his outfits. When she'd first offered, he'd feared for his masculinity, terrified she'd put him in something pink with sparkles to advertise his inner rainbow to the world. But she hadn't let him down then and hadn't done so now.

Their eyes met in the mirror and Sakura nodded her approval. "Good," she said. "I was debating on a white shirt—to bring out the gold in your skin—but decided on this instead. It draws attention to your bright hair and brings out the colour of your eyes."

Stepping forward, she turned him toward herself and unbuttoned the top of his shirt, tilted her head as she examined her work then nodded again. Folding the sleeves to the elbow she took a step back to admire the picture.

"Perfect," she decided and prodded the fragile crystal that hung from his neck. "Now for accessories." And she whipped out a couple of bracelets made of thick, wooden beads and what looked like a worn, brown leather cuff. "Put these on."

Golden brows furrowed. "You want me to wear... _bracelets_, Sakura-chan?"

The expression she spared him looked far from impressed. Her lips were pressed into a tight, angry line and her arms were folded beneath her modest bust. He could almost picture her foot-tapping with impatience.

"Geez," he muttered, hands thrown out before himself to ward off the irate girl. Granted, she didn't _look_ like she was about to maim him. Then again, it was those sneaky attacks that were the killers. "Calm down."

In response, she flashed her closed fist in his face. "I mean it, Naruto. I went through a lot of trouble picking this out for you. Instead I could be at home, preparing for movie night _without_ you."

_Ah geez. Damn guilt demons..._

He donned the pesky things and while he didn't particularly like the beaded ones; they were a little too clunky for his liking and felt almost restrictive, almost like handcuffs—a horror story he wasn't keen on repeating anytime in the future—the leather cuff, however was surprisingly comfortable. Slipping his finger beneath the leather, he fingered its softness.

"You realise that since I'm on tonight, there is no way I can actually wear this, right?"

"Already sorted."

Naruto glanced up from the cuff, curious as well as vaguely suspicious. "What do you mean? It's sorted?"

"Just that," Sakura replied, tapping a finger against one of his dressers absently. "I've spoken to Jiraiya about the dress-code and he said he'd let it slide for tonight. Apparently, he wants to get you laid just as much as you do."

The Uzumaki felt the blood leave his face. "Does _everyone_ know about my lack of a sex life?"

"Well, it is advertised."

The blond slumped forward. "_Great_."

"Now to work on that mop of yours."

He immediately snapped upright and took a step backward. "No," he stated, hands thrown up in defence. "No, there is no way I'm letting you near my hair."

Sakura's own hands went to her hips, her jade eyes narrowed and her full lips pursed. Oh how he _loathed_ that look; it reminded him of his mother and _never_ failed to make him cave. Unfortunately, Sakura was also well aware of this fact and applied it whenever she wanted to get her way.

"What do you want to do with my hair?" he asked through gritted teeth. Curse his upbringing, really. If it wasn't for how he was raised there was no way he'd be so easily manipulated by the likes of a pretty girl with a mean left hook.

The vixen beamed at him in approval. "A little gel is all you'll need. Just enough to keep that wet look you have going."

Which would explain the bracelets.

Acquiescing with a slight ill-mannered grace, Naruto let Sakura tend to his hair and just as promised, it was over after a few tousles with gel coated fingers. Truth be told, the entire ordeal wasn't nearly as painful as he'd believed it would be and it didn't look like she'd done anything to it.

He paused, eyeing how _natural_ it looked.

"Finally acknowledging how good you can look when you applying a little time and effort?" the rose-head girl asked, grabbing her own purse. She was smiling and her eyes shone with unrestrained pride. "Now let's go. You have to be in there by about six, don't you? And traffic is always horrendous on the way to my place from here."

"Which reminds me. How'd you even get here?"

"Ino."

"Oh." Naruto murmured, trailing behind Sakura as she left his room, not even pausing as she swept by Sasuke and toward the apartment door.

"Do you have your keys?"

"Hold on," Naruto paused to perform the ancient dance of locate the missing keys. It resembled something like a warped version of the Macarena. Minus the catchy tune and perfectly choreographed rhythm.

Sakura shook her head in amusement. "I'll wait at your car," she said and left the apartment.

"Keys," the blond muttered, "Keys, keys, keys." He flew down the hall to his bedroom and threw everything aside, trying to spot the elusive fine silver shapes attached to the incongruous form of a fat, red toad plushie.

_Wait_, he blinked. His keys _should_ be with his wallet and cell phone. So wherever his cell was located—

He ran back to the kitchen, picked up the landline, quickly speed dialled one and waited impatiently.

"Lost your phone again," Sasuke uttered his expression one of irritated disinterest. An interesting blend that only he managed to pull off. In his hand he held the tinfoil parcel that was supposed to be his dinner, which meant he was starving and had likely skipped lunch. At least, he'd gotten over whatever it was that had put him in such a foul mood earlier. "Check the pocket of the pants you were wearing earlier, moron."

Sure enough, once the call connected Naruto heard his phone ring from the direction of the laundry room.

Dropping the landline, he dashed toward the room before the call went to voicemail and fished his cell phone from the pocket of his pants, followed by his wallet and car keys. Luckily, he hadn't put them through the wash yet.

"Gotcha!"

He was back in the kitchen within the blink of an eye.

"I thought you were working tonight."

Naruto hesitated in trying to stuff his wallet into the front pocket of his jeans and regarded his roommate with a wary eye. It was almost completely abnormal to have Sasuke speaking so much and his newfound chattiness—by Uchiha standards—was beginning to make the blond feel edgy. Was the world ending in a wave of silver and gold? Were the four horsemen about and he'd missed them on the news or something?

Then again, maybe Sasuke was just in a more talkative mood for the day or was coming down with something. Even he had to get lonely at some point, right?

"I _am_ working tonight," the blond confirmed uncertainly, managing to squeeze his wallet into his pocket. He applied pressure to the bottom, to see how easily it could be manoeuvred out by a third party. His overprotective father had endeavoured to teach him vigilance when it came to all things—pickpockets, included—sadly, not all of these lessons had been taken to heart.

"Make sure you re-heat that before eating it," he cautioned, pointing at the parcel the dark-haired teen held aloft. "It might make it a bit soggy but at least you won't get a stomach ache. The rice is in the warmer whenever you're ready."

"It'll be fine," Sasuke intoned lowly and Naruto glanced up. He froze; finding himself under the scrutiny of an impossibly dark and unfathomable stare. "Your cooking hasn't killed me yet." The Uchiha's gaze quickly swept the younger teen's form again. It looked like he was about to say something. He didn't though. Instead, he turned on his heel and marched over to the microwave.

_Right_, Naruto frowned and edged away. "Make sure you clean your dishes once your done. And don't you _dare_ microwave that as it is."

In return, he received a fierce glare.

_That_ was more like. Depressing as it was, Naruto preferred Sasuke glaring at him or even just simply staring blankly over this newer, more chatty version. At least then, he knew how to handle him. A talkative Sasuke was as foreign as a French import in a Japanese market. But he need not have worried anyway. Whatever had upset the delicate balance of their apartment had been restored.

Sighing in relief, Naruto bounded out the door with an absent, "Later!"

* * *

And cut. Wasn't sure about where I ended this one. But thought the not-quite-date deserved a chapter all its own. *cough* and we see the beginnings of Naruto's odd relationship with Sakura. Don't worry, it's not legit Naruto/Sakura and was put in there for a point that will be brought up later.

Like it? Hate it? Please let me know.


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